Tchimpounga Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Center

As our 4WD trudges along the last stretch of road into the Jane Goodall Institute’s Tchimpounga Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Centre, one hour north of Pointe Noire in the Republic of Congo (Congo), it is the sound of hooting chimpanzees that first announces our arrival. The centre is situated on a hilltop, overlooking a patchwork of forest and swampy plains, just a few kilometres from the Atlantic Ocean. As with most visitors to the sanctuary, it took me a couple of weeks to begin to understand the complexity and dedication required to care for and rehabilitate chimpanzees.

At the end of April, Tchimpounga staff members welcomed a new arrival:  a baby girl named Anzac.  She was named Anzac because she came to the sanctuary on ANZAC Day (April 25, 2012)*, and because, like many war veterans, she had lost an arm.

When she arrived, Anzac was so small that the vet team had to weigh her using a food scale.  She weighed a mere 2.7 kilograms, making her one of the smallest chimps to arrive at the sanctuary.